Study Desk

"I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more they can do.

But when they bring you before the synagogues, the rulers, and the authorities, do not worry about how you should make your defense or what you should say,

be like people waiting for their master to come back from the wedding celebration, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him.

They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law."

But they remained silent. So Jesus took hold of the man, healed him, and sent him away.

But one after another they all began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please excuse me.'

They will say, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish!'

because this son of mine was dead, and is alive again—he was lost and is found!' So they began to celebrate.

But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; they must respond to them.'

He replied to him, ‘If they do not respond to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.'"

When he saw them he said, "Go and show yourselves to the priests." And as they went along, they were cleansed.

People were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage—right up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.

Sin, Forgiveness, Faith, and Service Jesus said to his disciples, "Stumbling blocks are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come! It would be better for him to have a millstone tied around his neck and be thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. Watch yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him. If he repents, forgive him. Even if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times returns to you saying, ‘I repent,' you must forgive him." The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!" So the Lord replied, "If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this black mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled out by the roots and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you. "Would any one of you say to your slave who comes in from the field after plowing or shepherding sheep, ‘Come at once and sit down for a meal'? Won't the master instead say to him, ‘Get my dinner ready, and make yourself ready to serve me while I eat and drink. Then you may eat and drink'? He won't thank the slave because he did what he was told, will he? So you too, when you have done everything you were commanded to do, should say, ‘We are slaves undeserving of special praise; we have only done what was our duty.'" Now on the way to Jerusalem, Jesus was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. As he was entering a village, ten men with leprosy met him. They stood at a distance, raised their voices and said, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us." When he saw them he said, "Go and show yourselves to the priests." And as they went along, they were cleansed. Then one of them, when he saw he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. He fell with his face to the ground at Jesus' feet and thanked him. (Now he was a Samaritan.) Then Jesus said, "Were not ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found to turn back and give praise to God except this foreigner?" Then he said to the man, "Get up and go your way. Your faith has made you well." Now at one point the Pharisees asked Jesus when the kingdom of God was coming, so he answered, "The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!' or ‘There!' For indeed, the kingdom of God is in your midst." Then he said to the disciples, "The days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. Then people will say to you, ‘Look, there he is!' or ‘Look, here he is!' Do not go out or chase after them. For just like the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. Just as it was in the days of Noah, so too it will be in the days of the Son of Man. People were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage—right up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot, people were eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, building; but on the day Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. It will be the same on the day the Son of Man is revealed. On that day, anyone who is on the roof, with his goods in the house, must not come down to take them away, and likewise the person in the field must not turn back. Remember Lot's wife! Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will preserve it. I tell you, in that night there will be two people in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. There will be two women grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left."

Then Jesus told them a parable to show them they should always pray and not lose heart.

Jesus also told this parable to some who were confident that they were righteous and looked down on everyone else.

They will flog him severely and kill him. Yet on the third day he will rise again."

But the twelve understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what Jesus meant.

And immediately he regained his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they too gave praise to God.

And when the people saw it, they all complained, "He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner."

While the people were listening to these things, Jesus proceeded to tell a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately.